In this episode we talk to special guest, Eric Trexler, about metabolic adaptation to dieting. Eric is a graduate student in Dr. Abbie Smith-Ryan's lab at the University of North Carolina. Eric is also a competitive natural bodybuilder. Eric's lab also recently received the very first BioLayne Foundation $10,000 research grant for his proposal submitted this past year. Eric wants to travel to bodybuilding shows & assess competitors before and after contests to track their bodyfat levels, metabolic rate, hormone levels, and various other parameters to determine what happens at contest and post competition recovery.